www.opm.co.uk

Leadership Gym

Finding new ways of thinking

Making connections: brains and thinking

• “The difference between linear and complex adaptive systems is the difference between throwing a rock and throwing a bird”

Jake Chapman, “Systems failure”

In order to be good leaders in times of change..

…We need to help our organisation think well.

To do that, a leader has to be as self-aware about

how we and others think, as we are self-aware

about how we and others behave.

We need to use a range of ‘thinking’ tools,

choosing the right tool for the right situation.

The way we think about a problem will shape the solution we find…

• Usual ways of thinking… • Extrapolating from personal experience• Analysing evidence• Reasoning.. Deducing

Thinking approaches that work better with uncertainty…

• Drawing on emotional intelligence – what are others feeling? How does that impact on their actions? What would bring their leadership into the room?

• Exploratory thinking…What if? How could things be different? What is possible? What are the possible options? What might happen?

• Integrative – synthetic – bringing together different ‘versions’ of what is happening – recognising everyone sees a valid ‘truth’.

• Systems thinking – understanding the system effects that sustain inertia and keep people doing unproductive or unhelpful things.. How can the system be disrupted or changed?

An example: Systems thinking

• Systems thinking is helpful in ambiguity and uncertainty

• When there is unpredictability that is inherent in the situation

• When there are strong links to other problem areas that are also complex

• When there is a sense of being over-loaded, not in control.

Good tools for systems thinking:

• Active listening• Rich pictures • System maps• Multiple cause diagrams• Ideal systems• Role play…

Multiple Cause Diagrams (devised by Jake Chapman)

Used to trace the sequence of cause and effect through a situation/system..

Creates a tool to enable debate about what is going on..Clarification comes in the process of trying something,

realising something missing and starting againHelps to:• To clarify one’s own thinking• identify potential interventions• identify feedback loopsNo use at all in finding (or justifying) instant

solutions..but then, in complexity, instant solutions are usually wrong..

Example

targets set toimprove performance

targets incorporatedinto performancemanagement

professionalsfeel distrusted

delivery staff focus on targetrather than client

activity ontarget distortssystem

service to clientsdeteriorates

increased dissatisfactionwith service

increased pressureon politicians toimprove situation

Example

targets set toimprove performance

targets incorporatedinto performancemanagement

professionalsfeel distrusted

delivery staff focus on targetrather than client

activity ontarget distortssystem

service to clientsdeteriorates

increased dissatisfactionwith service

increased pressureon politicians toimprove situation

causes orcauses orleads toleads to

causes orcauses orleads toleads to

causes orcauses orleads toleads to

targets incorporatedinto performancemanagement

Multiple Cause Diagrams

• Each item in the diagram is a factor – usually something that varies

• Each arrow means ‘causes’ or ‘leads to’• Aim to have between 10 and 20 items in the diagram• Feedback loops have to have the arrows going in the

same direction around the loop

Committee example (from Jake Chapman)

Committee held in low regard

Committee example

Committee held in low regard

lack of challenge

lack of understanding of programme

papers unread

attendance low priority

Committee example

Committee held in low regard

lack of challenge

lack of understanding of programme

lack of corporate thinking

no shared vision

culture of silo working

papers unread

attendance low priority

Committee example

Committee held in low regard

lack of challenge

lack of understanding of programme

lack of corporate thinking

no shared vision

culture of silo working

papers unread

attendance low priority

Committee example

Committee held in low regard

lack of challenge

lack of understanding of programme

lack of corporate thinking

no shared vision

culture of silo working

papers unread

attendance low priority

Committee operating at too detailed a level

most agenda items irrelevant to individuals

Committee example

Committee held in low regard

lack of challenge

lack of understanding of programme

lack of corporate thinking

no shared vision

culture of silo working

papers unread

attendance low priority

senior people absent

send a deputy

Committee operating at too detailed a level

most agenda items irrelevant to individuals

come unprepared

Committee example

Committee held in low regard

lack of challenge

lack of understanding of programme

lack of corporate thinking

no shared vision

culture of silo working

papers unread

attendance low priority

senior people absent

send a deputy

Committee operating at too detailed a level

lack of corporate or strategic debate

most agenda items irrelevant to individuals

come unprepared

Devising interventions

• Is there one item that is pivotal to the diagram?

• What are the items that only have arrows leaving them (the starting items)?

• Are there any feedback loops, and if so how could they be influenced?

• Is there a part of the diagram that deserves expansion?

Committee example

Committee held in low regard

lack of challenge

lack of understanding of programme

lack of corporate thinking

no shared vision

culture of silo working

papers unread

attendance low priority

senior people absent

send a deputy

Committee operating at too detailed a level

lack of corporate or strategic debate

most agenda items irrelevant to individuals

come unprepared

Pivotal issues

Committee example

Committee held in low regard

lack of challenge

lack of understanding of programme

lack of corporate thinking

no shared vision

culture of silo working

papers unread

attendance low priority

senior people absent

send a deputy

Committee operating at too detailed a level

lack of corporate or strategic debate

most agenda items irrelevant to individuals

come unprepared

Feedback loop

Committee held in low regard

send a deputy

senior people absent

Committee held in low regard

send a deputy

Committee example

Committee held in low regard

lack of challenge

lack of understanding of programme

lack of corporate thinking

no shared vision

culture of silo working

papers unread

attendance low priority

senior people absent

send a deputy

Committee operating at too detailed a level

lack of corporate or strategic debate

most agenda items irrelevant to individuals

come unprepared

Starting items

Multiple Cause Diagrams

• Key issue is getting the ‘level’ of the starting item right

• Aim for something that has three or four causes and a few effects

• Very common for people to realise they have started with the wrong issue – this is clarification!

• Do not combine ideas into a single item

So homework…

Choose a problem that is too complex to solve… and try a new way of thinking…

We suggest:• Practising using multiple-cause diagrams.. Often it takes

several tries to make them work• Drawing a ‘rich picture’ of the situation• Creating an emotional map – of the feelings, fears, hopes of

the different actors• Analyse using ‘what if?’ questions. Ask yourself ‘what is

possible here?’ • Try ‘deep listening’ to identify the different ‘truths’ in the

different perspectives on the problem. Listen until you understand how it looks to others.. keep going until you have all the perspectives. Then look again at the problem…